Rise From the Ashes

Chapter Twenty-Six: Malidon the Half-Blood

(NARRATED BY SARAH ADALEEN)

As I lay beneath the rubble, I felt a whole number of things: anxiety, confusion, despair, fear...

But pain?

Somehow, I didn't feel any of that. It wasn't until I opened my eyes that I realized why. A bright, golden light was shining through the cracks of the pile.

I had been saved by a blessing from my ancestor.

However, given the circumstances, I knew it wouldn't be long before I'd die of suffocation. But no matter how hard I tried, I didn't have the strength to pull myself out of there.

A familiar voice caused my heart to jump: "Sarah! Where are you? Please, answer me!"

It was Travis!

I wanted to call out to him, but I couldn't find my voice. So, instead, I sent my thoughts to him. Sure enough, I was eventually dug out of the wreckage by Cameron, who stood beside Travis with his arms raised. He threw the levitated rubble to the side.

My boyfriend exhaled with relief. "Thank the gods you're okay!"

After he helped me up, I examined myself and saw that I was no longer glowing. Many people were still being pulled out of the wreckage while the fight raged on ahead of us. It seemed that the enemy was rallying as more and more ships were reaching the shore. Most of the injured were either carried off by medics or teleported by a handful of Naridan Brotherhood members.

Levi, Elli, Lamerio, Senti, and Lola were all among them.

"This is my fault," Cameron whimpered, utterly ashamed. "I couldn't even keep that barrier up for more than a few minutes."

"Quit saying that," Travis scolded. "You gave it all you had."

"But it wasn't enough," said a familiar voice.

The three of us turned to find my father now standing there with a man dressed in a blood-red tunic.

Boy, was he a sight to behold.

Patches of his flesh were missing in places, sometimes revealing the bone itself. Nearly the entire left half of his face was nothing but skull. There, in the place of his eyeball, was a single, flickering flame that changed colors every so often. He had a double-edged sword with a pale-golden hilt and a blood-red gem embedded at its center. He stared at Travis with a devilish grin, while Travis stared right back at him. It was almost as if he recognized this... thing.

"Cameron, go help the others," I ordered. "Travis and I will deal with them."

Without a word, Cameron teleported away, leaving me and my boyfriend with my dad and the creep he brought with him.

"So, you've got yourself a Sweetheart now, eh, Lily Flower?" my father teased, using a term of endearment that made me miss the good old days. I hated him for using it, but that whole other part made me blush. And, for a moment, he sounded like a real dad: "Wait, you don't actually mean... G-Guilder's boy?"

I folded my arms. "Got a problem with that?"

"Of course I do!" he cried, flailing his arms. "You can't go dating that boy! You're not even eighteen yet! We agreed to this, remember?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, when I was, like, eight. In case you haven't noticed..." I gestured at all of myself. "I got older. Besides, it's not like it's any of your business anyhow. You lost my respect when you walked out the door. I don't care what you think."

The worry lines on his forehead tightened. "But he tried to kill me!"

"What do you think I'm here to do, talk about the weather?" I was trying desperately not to appear weak, even though I was trembling on the inside.